About Roslyn Swim Club

Roslyn Swim Club has been, from the beginning in 1956 to the present day, a neighborhood pool where families and friends gather to enjoy the sun, water and companionship.

Back in the 1940's a sign was perched on land south of West Chester University, then West Chester Normal School, advertising "40 acres of opportunity: $4,000.00". Walter Draymen took that opportunity by purchasing the land and developing the neighborhood of Roslyn.

As houses were built and families moved in, a Roslyn Neighborhood Civic Association was formed. A community minded individual as well as a businessman, Mr. Drayman proposed to the Civic Association that if they could raise the money to build a swim club, he would donate the land. The Neighborhood Association formed a committee to raise the money and they went door-to-door to sell the original $50.00 bonds to finance the construction.

In the spring of 1956 the bulldozers arrived, and that summer Roslyn Swim Club was officially opened. The original pool consisted of the diving well and pool area on the east side of the property, 25 feet in length.

In 1972 bonds were once again issued and the pool was extended to the west to create 25-meter lanes. Over the years other capital improvements were made, including a new bathhouse, clearing out the back part of the property, adding an extension to the bathhouse, and the pavilion.

In the beginning there were 75 families, mainly from the Roslyn neighborhood; now there are 240 families from all over the West Chester area. There also are many, many second and third generation members who "summer" at Roslyn Swim Club.

From the first Board of Directors to the present Board of Directors the focus has always been on creating a positive environment for families and children to enjoy themselves. This is the mandate that is the essence of what Roslyn Swim Club stands for.